In the Jiuzhou Continent, the geographical location of Great Zhou was uniquely blessed. Situated in the southwest corner of the continent, both its western and southern sides bordered the sea, sharing no borders with other nations. From the northeast to the east, the neighboring countries were Northern Qi, Zhao, Dayu, and East Liao, respectively.
The imperial capital of Great Zhou, Ludu, was located right in the northeastern part of the country, close to both Northern Qi and Zhao.
Pei Ji’s trip to Northern Qi involved galloping at full speed, allowing him to make the round trip in just three days.
By the time he returned to the Crown Prince’s Mansion, it was already late. Steward Zhang and a group of servants were waiting outside the estate, and even Li Liansheng had managed to be rounded up by Steward Zhang.
This was not Li Liansheng’s first time seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but it was the first time seeing him this close and with such detail. In the past, whenever he saw the Crown Prince, he either had to kneel or lower his head, at most catching a glimpse of a pair of official boots striding past briskly.
Today, however, he had the privilege of waiting outside the estate. Under the silvery moonlight of the vast sky, this future crown prince holding immense power rode in on a horse, clad in a black robe, with a handsome and striking facial profile like a celestial being. Dismounting in a fluid motion, standing tall and straight with an extraordinary demeanor, Li Liansheng dropped straight to his knees.
Later, Chief Steward Zhang pulled him up, brought him into the estate following the Crown Prince, and led him before the study, cautioning him to speak properly.
Of course Li Liansheng knew he had to speak properly, but the moment he stepped into the study and caught sight of that cold, stern face and those pitch-black eyes, the surging wave of oppression made his legs tremble.
“Gr-Greetings, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.” He dropped back to his knees on the floor.
Pei Ji merely glanced at him when he entered, flipping open a case file in his hand as he spoke, “Speak. What anomalies has the Consort shown these past few days?”
“R-Reporting to Your Highness,” Li Liansheng swallowed hard. “Every morning these past few days, the Consort slept until the Si hour before waking up, and had lunch right after getting up. After lunch, he would take a walk around the courtyard for a few turns, then return to his room to brew tea and read books. When the weather was fine, he would pull a chair to the doorway to bask in the sun, and when it snowed, he would build snowmen in the courtyard. After dinner in the evening, he would…”
With a sharp snap, the case file was set aside by Pei Ji. Startled, Li Liansheng immediately shut his mouth.
“Go on,” Pei Ji said, opening the next case file.
“Yes, Your Highness. After dinner, the Consort would continue taking a few walks around the courtyard, then return to his room to practice calligraphy. Being illiterate, I didn’t know what he was writing. By the Hai hour, he would go to sleep.”
Resting his chin on one hand, Pei Ji asked expressionlessly, “This king asked you if there were any anomalies, not to listen to a chronological log of daily activities.”
Li Liansheng felt like crying. You didn’t stop me from talking just a moment ago!
“An-Anomalies, anomalies…” He stammered, “There is only one room and one bed in the annex. The Consort’s accompanying servant had nowhere to sleep at night, and since the Consort is kind-hearted, he shared half of that bed with the servant.”
Pei Ji raised his head from the case files, his gaze growing slightly cold. “What did you just say?”
Li Liansheng felt like crying again. Could it be that sharing a bed with the servant had displeased His Highness? If he had known, he wouldn’t have run his mouth!
Trembling, he offered, “Your Highness need not worry, the Consort and the servant sleep under two separate blankets.”
“I am referring to the previous sentence.” Pei Ji raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Ah-ah?” Li Liansheng tried his best to recall. “The previous sentence… the Consort is kind-hearted?”
“Correct.” Pei Ji narrowed his eyes. “Why did you say that?”
Li Liansheng finally eased his mind a bit and chattered on, “The Consort treats me very well, and always saves a portion for me whenever there is good food. He doesn’t blame me when I make mistakes out of carelessness, and even comforts me. Once, when I sprained my waist while sweeping the snow, the Consort even gave me medicine and told me to go back and rest early. And还有…”
“That’s enough,” Pei Ji interrupted, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers to his forehead.
Another person whose wits had been bewitched by a ghost.
“You may leave,” he said coldly. “You won’t need to go to the annex from now on.”
“Ah?” Li Liansheng could not help letting out a sound of confusion. At Pei Ji’s cold glare, he immediately sealed his lips and quickly scrambled out of the study in a panic.
Taking advantage of the empty study, a cyan-robed blade-wielding guard entered and knelt on one half-knee, saying, “Your Highness.”
“Speak.”
The guard reported, “Official Peng’s carriage is about to enter Great Zhou’s borders. Currently, six covert guards are monitoring him, and he is expected to arrive in Ludu in two days. At that time, should he be brought directly to the estate, or…”
Pei Ji instructed, “Rent a residence for him in the eastern part of the city. Remember to disguise Peng Yu so that no one can recognize him.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“Qu Lan, find an opportunity in the next two days to go to the annex and test the martial arts skills of the servant by the Consort’s side,” Pei Ji said in a deep voice.
The guard lowered his head. “This subordinate obeys.”
“Make it tomorrow,” Pei Ji opened his eyes and flipped open a new case file. “You will accompany me there tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Song Beiyao learned the news that Li Liansheng would no longer be coming to the annex and that Pei Ji had returned to the mansion on the second morning.
At that time, he was lying in bed, coughing as if his lungs were about to tear apart.
“Look at this! Look at this! !” The system sounded exasperated, as if disappointed by his lack of ambition. “I told you not to be lazy about earning Qi values, and now look—you’re back down to -197, right back to where you started! Don’t you feel uncomfortable in a body like this?”
“Uncomfortable, very uncomfortable.” Lying there on his last breath, Song Beiyao didn’t argue, his tone remaining calm and indifferent. “No need to rush, let a long line catch a big fish.”
“Still fishing? Pretty soon you’ll have fished your life away!” The system was frantic. “I know Pei Ji is a difficult person to deal with, especially since some of his actions deviate slightly from the original plot, but surely you could occasionally touch his hand, couldn’t you?”
“The hand-touching you speak of is currently very difficult to achieve. Don’t forget that I can’t even leave the courtyard right now, and Pei Ji is far too guarded against me.”
Song Beiyao smiled helplessly. “Besides, touching a hand is only worth 1 point, while during the negative score stage, 2 points are deducted every day. Touching his hand twice a day barely keeps it even. That’s too slow, it’s meaningless.”
“Then what would be meaningful to you?” The system was startled. “You wouldn’t be thinking of doing everything except the highest-value actions, would you? That’s impossible! You’ve seen Pei Ji’s attitude toward you; just being able to touch his hand is already a blessing!”
Song Beiyao chuckled twice and said nothing more.
In his heart, he knew very well that the higher the difficulty and the greater the challenge, the more one had to stay steady—it couldn’t be rushed.
Back in the day, in order to portray a character well, he could drop to ninety-eight pounds within three months, undergo half a year of closed-off acting training, and then spend another half a year filming.
At the very beginning, many people felt he shouldn’t take on that movie because it was too time-consuming and the sunk costs were too high. Yet, in the end, he won the Best Actor award precisely because of that role.
Therefore, this time, he would definitely be able to handle this tough nut to crack as well.
After lunch, Song Beiyao wrote down several ingredients on a piece of paper and handed them to Ling Feng.
Ling Feng glanced over them roughly, failed to understand, and knitted his brows. “What is this for?”
“A recipe for pear blossom pastries.” Song Beiyao took some silver coins from a wooden box and smiled as he said, “Go talk to the guards, have them send the recipe to the kitchen, and tell them to make a batch for tonight. I’d like to eat some.”
“You even know about these things?” Ling Feng gave Song Beiyao a look of utter disbelief. “It probably won’t get through. Those guards basically don’t listen to a word I say; they just stand guard dead-set at the courtyard gate.”
Song Beiyao handed him the silver. “There’s always a way to make them listen. Go find a guard with a knife scar on his brow bone, and give him silver to help run this errand. It’s just some food, nothing serious will happen.”
Ling Feng was shocked. “How do you know there’s a guard with a knife scar on his brow bone?”
Because it was written in the book that this guard, greedy for money and fond of gambling, couldn’t resist temptation and became a spy for another prince, only to be discovered and executed by Pei Ji later on.
Song Beiyao smiled with a bewitching charm. “Because I am a god, and a god naturally knows all things.”
Speechless, Ling Feng rolled his eyes, took the silver, and went out.
The charcoal fire was burning brightly, and a light snow had begun to fall outside. Song Beiyao sat huddled near the charcoal fire, unhurriedly opening a packet of tea leaves. Using tea tweezers, he picked out the tea leaves with the best color and set them aside.
Longshan Maojian tea leaves were thin and long. The process was tedious and uninteresting; once Ling Feng had finished settling matters and returned to the room, seeing Song Beiyao picking through the tea leaves, he sat down to help as well.
He couldn’t sit still for long, though. Every so often he would run out to the courtyard for a couple of laps, or pick up a broom to clear away the accumulated snow. By the time he returned, Song Beiyao was still picking tea leaves.
“Seriously, you just keep doing this? Don’t you find it boring?” Ling Feng couldn’t help asking.
“Not boring at all.” Song Beiyao lowered his head slightly, his hair falling loose on both sides. Hearing Ling Feng’s question, he raised his neck and moved it from side to side to relax his shoulders and neck, before dropping his head back down almost immediately. “There are quality differences after tea leaves are picked, and differences after they’re stir-fried as well. I’m just sorting out the inferior ones.”
“Why bother? You can’t even taste the difference.” Ling Feng found it incomprehensible.
Song Beiyao smiled faintly. “Just because you can’t taste it doesn’t mean others can’t.”
Especially someone like Pei Ji, who loved drinking tea; the slightest difference would alter the tea’s color, aroma, and mouthfeel.
As soon as he finished speaking, he covered his mouth and gave a muffled cough. Seeing this, Ling Feng said unsympathetically, “Look at you, you haven’t even recovered your health yet, and you’re still messing with these things.”
After finishing his cough, Song Beiyao raised his eyes to look at him. “Ling Feng, do me a favor.”
“Not helping.”
“Help me go out to the courtyard and gather some clean snow to fill the teapot.” Song Beiyao looked at him with a smile in his eyes.
The moment Ling Feng caught that look, he immediately averted his gaze, muttering under his breath, “So annoying, all you know is bossing people around all day.” Yet his feet kept moving as he obediently picked up the teapot and went outside.
When night fell, the pear blossom pastries arrived along with dinner and were placed on the table.
The doors were closed. Ling Feng was also sitting at the table eating, and when he picked up his chopsticks, he reached directly toward the pear blossom pastries. Song Beiyao immediately intercepted him with a chopstick.
Ling Feng’s face instantly dropped. “What is this for now? You won’t let me eat? I worked so hard to help you…”
“It’s not that I won’t let you eat.” Song Beiyao brushed his chopsticks aside, picked up a piece himself, and put it into Ling Feng’s bowl. “Eat it, and tell me how it tastes.”
“What a hassle!” Ling Feng swallowed it in one bite, chewed for a moment, and then swallowed. “It’s good, but a bit bland, not sweet enough, and the pear blossom flavor isn’t quite strong enough.”
Song Beiyao silently made a mental note, thinking the recipe would need some adjustments next time.
Pear blossom pastries were Pei Ji’s favorite dessert, and the book had only glossed over the recipe in passing. However, written text differed from actual preparation and real taste, requiring continuous trial and adjustment.
“You can eat the rest,” he said.
Ling Feng’s voice pitched up. “You’re not eating?”
“I’m not eating.” Song Beiyao’s eyes curved into crescents. “I’m allergic to flower-based ingredients.”
“Oh, I see.” While showing a look of sympathy, Ling Feng wolfed down the rest of the pear blossom pastries in one go. “Seeing that you made these pear blossom pastries for me, I’ll generously forgive you for ordering me around today.”
After dinner, Song Beiyao put the snow water on the stove to boil, let it sit quietly to cool completely, filtered it once, and then put it back on the stove for a second boil.
Just as the water came to a boil, Pei Ji arrived, dressed in a black brocade robe with a fox-fur cloak draped over his shoulders, followed by the cyan-robed guard Qu Lan.
This courtyard was very small; stepping inside took only a few steps to reach the doorway of the room. Halting a short distance away, Pei Ji looked through the open doorway at the young man sitting by the indoor brazier brewing tea.
The water in the pot seemed to have just reached a boil, rolling white mist billowing upward. Song Beiyao was dressed in a wide-sleeved white robe, his dark hair simply and casually tied back loosely behind him, with a few strands trailing down. His entire face seemed to be hidden within the clouds and mist, looking unreal and breathtakingly beautiful.
Pei Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and stepped forward.
The youth’s tea-brewing motions appeared quite practiced; he took tea leaves from a jar, placed them in a gaiwan, and poured hot water over them. Then he poured out the first brew and poured in hot water a second time.
During the process, perhaps accidentally touching the scalding teapot, he abruptly pulled his hand back, gasped in pain, and instinctively brought his scalded fingertip to his mouth.
It was at that exact moment that Pei Ji stepped into the room, walking up to stand right before Song Beiyao, his tall figure blocking the candlelight. “The Fourth Prince certainly has refined leisure.”
Song Beiyao paused, lifting his eyes. After a brief flash of surprise in his gaze, joy bloomed, his pair of eyes as bright as the stars.
His slender, fair fingers slowly withdrew from his mouth, brushing across his lips before a smile quickly curved upward. “Your Highness has returned.”
Pei Ji lowered his gaze, staring at Song Beiyao’s reddened fingertip, then swept his line of sight across lips that were moistened with a hint of water, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Even when dressed in the plainest clothes without any adornment, this face was simply too gorgeous and exquisite; even the mole at the corner of his eye was born with such a bewitching allure, yet he always put on such an innocent and naive expression—no wonder he managed to cloud other people’s hearts in this way.
Whether he was a spy or not, he was a disaster. Pei Ji reaffirmed his conclusion inwardly.
Lowering his gaze again to glance at the tea, his eyes paused slightly. “What kind of tea is the Fourth Prince brewing?”
“It’s Longshan Maojian that I brought from Zhao,” Song Beiyao said with a smile, pouring a cup. “If Your Highness doesn’t find it crude, you may taste a cup.”
Pei Ji raised his gaze slightly and looked at the guard. “Qu Lan, you wait outside first.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The guard immediately stepped out.
Song Beiyao quickly understood the intention and also said to Ling Feng, “Ling Feng, you go outside too and close the door. I have matters to discuss with His Highness.”
Ling Feng also went out, pulling the door shut behind him.
Pei Ji brushed aside his cloak and sat down by the low table. Soon, the aroma of tea permeated the entire room, yet he made no move to touch the cup.
“Peng Yu has been found.” His voice was deep and cold. “I am here tonight to fulfill my promise to the Fourth Prince the nuptial wine.”